Motor-controlling mechanism



Get. 15, 1929. L, w, MELCHER 1,731,389

MOTOR CONTROLLING MECHANI SM Filed Feb. 1, 1926 Patented Oct. 15, 1929 LEE w. MELGHER, or WEST DE PEEE, wxsoonsm MOTOR-CONTROLLING MECHANISM Application filed February 1, 1926. Serial No. 85,239.

The invention relates to motor-controlling mechanism, and-its object is to provide for synchronizing the speeds of separate motors,

particularly in: places where they are used to drive a common load, for example, in motorpropelled railway cars or vehicles in which a plurality of motors are used.

The invention consists in the several novel features hereinafter set forth and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof. 1

The drawing: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of propelling mechanism embodying the invention.

The invention is exemplified in a-system in which two motors 4 and 5 of the internal combustion type are used to drive a common load, such as a railway car or vehicle. In the operation of these vehicles, it has been found to be economical to use separate motors which may be independently or simultaneously operated, so that their power may be cumulated when desired. For example, in starting the vehicle and in propelling it over grades, it is desirable to operate both of the motors to cumulate their power, and to operate the vehicle from a single motor when it is under headway, and a single motor furnishes suflicient power, so that the consumption of fuel may be conserved for the purpose of economy.

Each of the motors may be of any suitable construction, and is provided with an intake manifold 6, through which the fuel will be drawn during the suction strokes of the pistons in the cylinders, and a carburetor 7 for vaporizing fuel is connected to admit combustible mixture into the inlet 8 of the intake manifold. Gasoline or other suitable fuel may be delivered to each of the carbureters through supply pipe 9 from any suitable source of supply. A throttle valve 10 of the butterfly type is pivoted at 11 in the outlet pipe from the carbureter which is connected to the inlet 8 ofthe manifold 6 to control the volume of combustible mixture which will be drawn into the intake manifold.

An arm or lever 14 is fixed to the pivot-pin of each throttle to shift it into its different positions to regulate the effective size of the opening to the intake manifold. A spring 15 is applied to the outer end of each lever to yieldingly and normally hold the throttle closed. Each throttle is adapted to be opened by a fluid-pressure operated device comprising a cylinder 16, a piston 17, slidable in the cylinder and a piston stem 18 extending through the upper cylinder-head 19 and having its upper end pivoted at 20 to throttle lever 14. Openings 21 in head 19 expose the upper side of piston 17 to atmosphere. A pipe 22 is adapted to deliver the compressed air from a suitable controlling valve, usually located in the operators cab of the car or vehicle, to deliver, through branch pipes 23 and 24, com ressed air into the cylinders 16 respective y.

Each cylinder 16 is pivoted, at 25, to a sup- I porting bar 26 which is mounted in any suitable manner and may, for convenience, be secured to the crank-case of the motor 4. Said pivot permits the cylinder and piston to be swung responsively to the arcuate travel of the pivot-pin 20. The operator controls the throttles 10 of the motors 4 and 5 by the volume of compressed air admitted to the cylinders 16. Byv admitting a greater or less volume, the throttle valves will be simulqtaneously and correspondingly opened to regulate the admission of fuel to the motors.

This construction exemplifies fluid-pressure controlled means for operating the throttle valves for the motors.

In practice, it sometimes occurs, as the result of different conditions in the motors, that one motor will lag behind the other, and one object of the invention is to provide means for synchronizing the motors When this occurs. For this purpose, a synchronizing device is applied to each of the throttle levers 14 and comprises a cylinder 30, a piston 31, slidable in the cylinder, a piston stem 32, sliding through a perforated head 33 on the upper end of" cylinder 30, and a pivotal connection 34 between the upper end of said stem and one of the levers 14. The cylinder is pivoted, at 35, to supporting bracket 26, to

34,. A pipe 37 leads from the intake mani-. fold 6 of the motor 5 to the lower end of the cylinder 30 of the synchronizing device applied to the throttle lever 14 for the other motor 4, and a pipe 38 leads from the intake manifold 6 of the motor 5 to the cylinder 30 of the synchronizing device applied to the throttle lever 14 for the motor 5. As a result, the synchronizing device for one motor will be subjected to suction responsively to variations in the suction intake manifold of the other motor.

In the operation of these motors, the suction in the intake pipe varies responsively to the throttle opening, so that when the motor is travelling under a heavy load or the motor is running slowly, the suction in the intake manifold will be greater than when the throttle valve is wide open and the motor is operating at high speed. If, at any time, the motors are operating at substantially different speeds, the suction conditions in their respective intakes will be correspondingly different. For example, if the motor 5 should be lagging behind the motor 4, there will be greater suction in the intake manifold of the motor 5 than there is in the manifold intake of the motor 4. The increased suction in the intake of motor 4 will thereupon produce a greater suction in the cylinder 30 of the synchronizing device for the motor 4 than is produced in the cylinder 30 of the synchronizing device for the motor 5, which is connected to the intake of the motor 4. Resultantly, the greater suction in pipe 37 and the cylinder 30 of the synchronizing device for motor 4 will act to move the controller arm 14 for the throttle of the motor 4 downwardly to re duce the effective inlet opening for said motor, to reduce the volume of fuel admitted to the cylinders and correspondingly reduce the speed of the motor 4 until it has been synchronized with the motor 5. Simultaneously, the lower suction in the intake manifold of the motor, which is operating at a higher speed, will cause a lower suction in its intake, so that the suction in the synchronizing'de vice of the other motor will be correspondingly low, so that it will offer less resistance to the movement of the controller arm, to which it is connected and cause the throttle to be opened to correspondingly increase the speed of the other motor. Obviously, the synchronizing device for the motor 5 will similarly act in response tothe suction variations in the-intake ofthe motor 4.

The invention thus exemplifies means for controlling two or more internal combustion motors and synchronizing their speeds under varying loads or operat ng conditions; also means for this purpose which is fluid-operated, so that it may be easily applied to control the throttles for the motors. By crossconnecting the suction pipes, each motor controls the speed of the other in proportion to the Work done, so that they will be effectively synchronized. The invention is of particular utility in the operation of motor-driven railway cars or vehicles, in which it is desirable to cumulate the power of the motors.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details set forth, since these may be modified within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The combination with a plurality of independent internal combustion motor-cylinders having pistons therein, of fuel-formin means, means associated with each of the motor cylinders for manually controlling the supply of fuel thereto, and means for automatically and relatively varying the delivery of fuel from said forming means to the cylinders to synchronize the operation of the pistons.

2. The combination with -a plurality of independent internal combustion motor-cylinders having pistons therein, of fuel-forming devices for the motor cylinders respectively, means associated with each of said cylinders for manually controlling the supply of fuel thereto, and means for automatically and relatively varying the delivery of fuel from said devices to the cylinders to synchronize the operation of the pistons.

p 3. The combination with internal combustion motor-cylinders with pistons therein, of a plurality of carbureters, means for manually and conjointly controlling the supply of fuel from the carbureters to the cylinders respectively, and means for automatically and relatively varying the delivery of fuel from said carbureters to the cylinders to synchronize the operation of the pistons.

4:. The combination with a plurality of internal combustion motors, means connected to supply fuel to the motors respectively, means for manually controlling the supply of fuel to each of the motors from said means, and means for automatically and relatively varying the delivery of fuel to the motors to synchronize their speed.

5. The combination with a plurality of internal combustion motors, a plurality of carbureters connected to supply fuel to the motors respectively, means for manually and conjointly controlling the suppl of fuel to the motors respectively from sai means,and means for automatically and relatively varying the delivery of fuel from the carbureters to the motors to synchronize their speed.

6. The combination with a plurality of m ternal combustion motors, of carbureters connected to supply fuel to the motors respectively, means for manually controlling the supply of fuel to each of-the motors from the respective carburetor therefor, and means controlled by the speed of one motor for antomatically and relatively varying the delivcry of fuel to the other motor to synchronize the speed of the motors.

7. The combination with a plurality of internal combustion motors, of means to supply fuel to the motors respectively, throttles for the fuel, means for manually and conjointly controlling the throttles, and means controlled by the speed of one motor, for shifting the throttle for. the other motor to automatically and relatively vary the delivery of fuel to synchronize the speed of the motors.

8. The combination with a plurality of internal combustion motors, each provided with cylinders, pistons and a fuel intake, of fuelforming means connected to deliver fuel to the intakes respectively, manually controlled throttle valves for controlling the delivery of fuel from the forming means to the intakes respectively, and means for automatically and relatively shifting the valves to vary the delivery of fluid to synchronize the speed of the motors.-

- 9. The combination with a plurality of internal combustion motors, each comprising cylinders with pistons therein and a fuel intake, of fuel forming means connected to 7 the intakes respectively, means for manually controlling the supply of fuel from said forming means to the intakes respectively, and means, controlled by the suction-pressure in the intake of one motor, for automatically and relatively varying the delivery of fuel to the other motor, to synchronize the speed of the motors.

10. The combination with a plurality of internal combustion motors, each comprisin cylinders with pistons therein, and a fue intake, fuel forming means connected to the 13. In power mechanism, the combination with a plurality of fuel intakesfor motor cylinders, carbureters connected to deliver fuel to the intakes respectively, throttlevalves, fluid-operated means for conjointly shifting the valves, suction-operated synchronizing devices, and suction connections between the intakes for one motor and the synchronizing device for the other motor.

. 14. The combination with a plurality of fuel-intakes for internal combustion motors, of fuel-forming devices connected to deliver fuel to the intakes respectively, Valves between the forming-means and the intakes, means for holding the valves normally closed, fluid-pressure operated devices for conjointly opening the valves, suction-operated synchronizing-devices for the valves respectively, and cross-connections between the synchronizing devices and the in' takes.

15. The combination with a plurality of fuel intak'es for internal combustion motors, of carbureters connected to deliver fuel to the. intakes respectively, throttle valves between the carbureters and the intakes, arms on the valves, means for holding the valves normally closed, fluid-pressure operated devices connected to said arms for conjointly shifting the valves, suction operated synchronizing devices for the throttles respectively connected to said arms, andcross-connections between the synchronizing devices and the intakes.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 24th day of November, 1925.

LEE W. MELOHER.

intakes respectively, fluid-pressure operated means for manually controlling the supply of fuel from said forming means to the intakes respectively, and means, controlled by the suction pressure in the intake of one motor, for automatically and relatively varying the delivery of fuel to the other motor to synchronize the speed of the motors.

11. In power mechanism, the combination with a plurality of fuel intakes for motorcylinders, carbureters connected to deliver fuel to the intakes respectively, throttlevalves,'means for manually controlling the valves respectively, synchronizing devices operable by fluid, and cross-connections between the intake for one motor and the synchronizing-device for the other motor.

12. In ower mechanism, the combination with a p urality of fuel intakes for motor cylinders, carbureters connected to deliver fuel to the intakes respectively, throttlevalves, means for manually controlling the throttle valves, suction-operated synchronizing devices, and suction-connections between the intakes for one motor and the synchronizing device for the other motor.

throttle- 

